Why?
Our Sikh ancestors who migrated in 1947 to Chardha Panjab (land of rising sun) from Lehnda Panjab (land of setting sun) knew Shahmukhi Panjabi and Gurmukhi Panjabi. Would you like to learn Shahmukhi Panjabi so you can read Sufi poetry and reconnect with the rich heritage that you have been separated from for over 70 years? Many Sikh documents such as Zafarnaama are in Persian. To understand Persian, as Sikhs we will first have to learn the Shahmukhi script in which it is written.
Who & What?
Jeevay Sanjha Punjab brings together volunteer teachers from Chardha, Lehnda, and Diaspora Panjab to offer free online classes for you to learn:
a) Shahmukhi Panjabi if you know Gurmukhi Panjabi, and
b) Gurmukhi Panjabi if you know Shahmukhi Panjabi.
These classes help the people of Punjab to transcend national borders to create more understanding and mutual respect between Panjabi Sikhs and Panjabi Muslims irrespective of which part of the world they live. It is time for our generation to wash the bloodstains of 1947 of our ancestors by learning and connecting with the rich heritage of our common Punjab.
We have already completed our first batches of Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi classes and will continue to offer them alternatively online and free of cost.
Each class batch has 6-8 professionally presented classes in Panjabi for one hour each through zoom webinar. We hold optional zoom office hours in between each class.
Each class begins with a nostalgic video kalaam of Sufis (such as Baba Farid, Warris Shah, Bulleh Shah, and Madho Lal Hussain) to promote interfaith and intercultural harmony based on the knowledge that each side has been cut off from the other side due to language barriers for over 70 years.
You can help in three ways:
1) First if you know Gurmukhi, please sign up for the Shahmukhi Panjabi classes by emailing [email protected]. Also encourage your family and friends to also join these classes,
2) Second, if you have friends who know Shahmukhi and want to learn Gurmukhi, please request them to email [email protected], and
3) Third, make a donation to this project so we can pay forward for underwriting this project.
How will funds be used?
We would like to continue to offer alternate Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi learning class – there seems to be a huge demand for it. The funds will be used for dedicated Zoom account, development of online resources, services and equipment to offer live classes and to record professionally the online classes, develop and print Qaidas (language learning aides) that can be made available online and in print format, and ultimately develop a website in the next 3-5 years – where we can offer authentic Shahmukhi and Gurmukhi resources for self-guided learning.
Thank you for your support and also, please check our our recent updates!
No funds collected will be used for payment to teachers – all of them are volunteers who are moved by the spirit of Jeevay Sanjha Punjab and will donate their time for this project so as to provide valuable cost share.
We just completed our third batch of Gurmukhi students who learned how to read Shahmukhi! About 250 students signed up for it.
